"I know so many people who are meticulous about their flight plans — but who mess up with rental cars once they land. I have a simple rule: Never rent a car. Hiring a car service is much more convenient, and it's often cheaper. But the big problem with rental cars is returning them. Like most people, I seldom arrive early at an airport. The time needed to return a car might mean the difference between catching a flight and missing it. So I always ask colleagues in my destination city for the name of a car service that I can use."

"I also try to be smart about taxis. When I find a cabbie who has a clean car and a cell-phone and who arrives on time, I get the driver's card and call that cabbie the next time I'm in his or her city. In Chicago, I always call the same cab driver. Once he waited for two hours while I attended a meeting. We've become very good friends over the years. One time, we even ate Thanksgiving dinner together. I trust this guy enough to give him the keys to my apartment in Chicago: Whenever I'm on the road and I need something from that apartment, he can FedEx the item to me."

A version of this article appeared in the May 1999 issue of Fast Company magazine.